McKinlay plane crash: Grim task ahead after three Aussies were killed in fiery collision
A specialist team of investigators has been called in to carry out the grim task of identifying the remains of three passengers killed in a fiery plane crash.
The plane carrying three employees of Victorian flight charter company AGAIR crashed in “difficult terrain” near the Eloise copper mine south of Cloncurry in north-west Queensland about 2.30pm on Saturday.
The crew had been sent to the area in a Rockwell 696 Jetprop to assist with fighting bushfires in rural Queensland.
A disaster victims identification team will be on site on Monday to identify the bodies after the plane burst into flames following the crash.
Investigators will deal with the rural crime scene currently under police surveillance.
The investigation is estimated to take days.
A specialist team of disaster investigators will arrive at the scene of a tragic plane crash in rural Queensland to help identify and identify the three deceased passengers (photo, Rockwell 696 Jetprop)
Mount Isa District Officer Chief Inspector Tom Armitt said his officers had not yet examined the wreck and would be on site throughout the week.
“They will fill in and confirm all these details for us,” he said.
“In this case, we know who was on the plane… we will rely on the disaster victims’ identification team to repatriate the deceased so that the relevant post-mortem examinations can take place and full identities can be confirmed from there.
Supt Armitt said the team of investigators would have to be flown in from across the country and then transported to the crash site due to the rural location of the site.
‘We cannot give a technical answer to the question of why this happened. We will do our best to conduct a thorough investigation,” he said.
‘We really sympathize with the families of the victims. At this stage we are in the very, very early stages of our investigation.”
In addition to identifying the deceased, investigators will provide the coroner with details of the aircraft’s airworthiness and the technical details of the flight.
The Rockwell 696 Jetprop crashed near the Eloise mine, south of Cloncurry in north-west Queensland, about 2.30pm on Saturday.
Despite being in China for meetings with Chinese Secretary General Xi Xingping, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese spoke about the tragedy at a press conference.
“The thoughts of all Australians are with the family, friends and everyone who knows the brave firefighters who lost their lives as a result of the fatal plane crash that occurred in North Queensland,” Albanese said.
“We know that people who fight fires and provide emergency services risk their lives every day to help their fellow Australians and their communities. And today our hearts go out to them.”
Prime Minister Albanese continued to pay tribute to the three people killed in the “terribly sad” crash in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
“Three brave souls who helped their fellow Australians have lost their lives in Queensland,” Albanese wrote.
‘A tragic reminder of the dangers faced by those on the frontlines of bushfires. Sincere condolences to their loved ones and colleagues at this time of grief.”
The crash resulted in the deaths of all three workers from a Victorian company who had been deployed to the area to monitor nearby bushfires.
Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES) took to Facebook to pay tribute to the plane’s three passengers.
“Our hearts are heavy following this afternoon’s fatal plane crash in north-west Queensland and the tragic loss of three people who supported our bushfire response,” read a QFES post on Facebook.
“During natural disasters in Queensland, we respond as a family. That family also includes those contracted to support our air operations.
“Side by side, we fought these wildfires as one and their loss is felt by all.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with their families, friends and those who worked with them, including our Air Operations personnel.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (pictured) paid tribute to the ‘three brave souls working to help their fellow Australians’ while in China to meet with Secretary-General Xi Xingping
A statement from AGAIR CEO Rob Boschen confirmed that the aircraft was “engaged in fire monitoring operations” at the time of the crash.
“Authorities have confirmed that three of our valued and much-loved employees were the sole occupants of the aircraft, and that there were no survivors,” Mr. Boschen wrote.
“We are absolutely devastated, and our sincerest thoughts and prayers are with the families of our staff.
‘AGAIR will provide full assistance and support to all authorities during their investigations.’
Similar aircraft used by the QFES in fire surveillance will be temporarily grounded until the investigation is completed.